Sunday afternoon items

The Reds have won four of their last five games now after a convincing 10-1 win over the Cubs on Sunday. Although it was a split-squad roster for Chicago, several of their regulars made the trip over to Goodyear — including Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro, who played the entire game.

There was plenty to like today if you are a Reds fan. Some of the highlights:

*Johnny Cueto pitched three scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout.

*Edgar Renteria had two hits and scored two runs but also did well defensively at second base. He made a nice pick to his left on Carlos Pena’s second-inning groundout.

*Francisco Cordero pitched a perfect fourth inning with two Ks.

*Zack Cozart led off the fifth inning as a pinch-hitter and smacked a homer to left field — his first of spring.

*From two outs in the second inning until the start of the eighth, Reds pitchers retired 16 batters in a row. The Cubs were held to just two hits.

“It was solid all around,” manager Dusty Baker said. “No errors again and good pitching. We had a couple of hits and a couple of walks and some timely hitting.”

Other notes and items:

*My main story of the day will be on Cueto. With a new four-year, $27 million contract, he will have to both stay hungry but not put too much pressure on himself to live up to what he signed for.

“I feel like I’m the same guy,” Cueto said. “I just worry about throwing the ball and doing my job. My mental approach is like I’m looking for a big contract. I’m thinking like I’ve gotten nothing yet. That’s how I feel like.”

*RHP Matt Klinker will start the ‘B’ game that’s been scheduled against the Indians on Tuesday. Klinker is the West Chester native and Lakota West graduate and is going through his first big league camp.

“It’d be an honor to be in a big league camp anywhere, but with my hometown team, it’s just icing on the cake,” Klinker said.

*Baker was asked about all of the prospects the team has and the situation where the organization could have an elite prospect at nearly every position in Triple-A Louisville.

“It’s been like that the last couple of years,” Baker said. “It’s more so this year because it backs up every year. It’s like backing up a dam. You’re going to have more water if you get a rainy season two years in a row or three years in a row. This is what it’s like when you’ve got talent and a good team at the big leagues. It stacks up. Sooner or later, you can’t keep everybody. Eventually you can make trades for what you really need, or want.”

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